Terrible start to the season for the St. Louis Rams as Mike Vick and the Eagles picked the defense apart.

Image via Wikipedia

Analysts and experts were falling in love with St. Louis. It was the sexy “upset” pick for week 1 in the NFL. Sam Bradford coming into year two with a new coordinator in Josh McDaniels; a healthy Steven Jackson; a revamped receiving corps; and a new nasty guard in Harvey Dahl.

Really?

A 7-9 team at home was going to take down the Mike Vick led “dream-team”?

Well, maybe if the game ended after Jackson’s first run from scrimmage, which went for 47 yards and a 7-0 lead. He would leave the game with a quad injury just one snap afterwards.

Unfortunately, the wheels came off the bus from there.

Philadelphia scored a touchdown on their next possession and prevailed to a 31-13 victory.

Vick threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for a total of 98 yards on 10 carries. Vick’s elusiveness was put on display as St. Louis defenders consistently failed to bring him down after getting an initial hand on him.

The Eagles converted on 8-12 third downs. The Rams were 2-12. This game came down to those 24 plays in my opinion.

A closer look at some of the Eagles’ 3rd downs:

3rd and 11 at STL 40
Vick 20 yard deep pass to Jason Avant

3rd and 7 at STL 7
Vick 7 yard TD pass to Leasean McCoy

3rd and 10 at PHI 13
Vick 20 yard pass to Jeremy Maclin

3rd and 10 and STL 43
Vick scrambles for 19 yards

3rd and 10 at STL 24
Vick 13 yard pass to Brent Celek

I’ll never forget after the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins last year. Afterwards, Redskins head coach Mike Shannahan noted, “this game is won and lost on third down”.

Along with Jackson, Bradford left the game after banging his index finger and injuring a nerve. WR Danny Amendola will be out for awhile with a dislocated elbow. Starting cornerback Ron Bartell could miss the season with 2 fractures in his neck.

The Eagles got away with a win because the Rams failed in the fundamental areas of the game. Tackling, dropped passes, and penalties all contributed to a deflating loss.

St. Louis heads to the new Meadowlands stadium to play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football next week.

Related articles

• NFL Scores Week 1: Final Score, Recap and Analysis of Eagles Rout over Rams (bleacherreport.com)
• Dream start for Eagles with easy win over Rams (nypost.com)